The harness and cart equipment used with modern trotters and pacers have developed historically from the era when horses provided the primary means for transportation of people and goods. The harness itself was developed from harnesses which were used for pulling carriages.
Race conditions make different demands upon the horse and the equipment than do conventional carriage driving conditions. For example, a horse following a starting gate may be travelling at approximately one/third its potential speed. When the gate is pulled forward at the start, the race horse works hard to increase its speed. The horse reaches out further with its hooves as it attempts to accelerate. This acceleration often causes undesirable consequences.
As the horse accelerates, the driver's weight is thrown backward because of the driver's inertia. As shown in FIG. 1, the center of gravity of the driver of a conventional sulky is positioned rearwardly of the wheel axles of the sulky. Thus, the inertial forces (F=ma) apply a torque about the sulky axles which is added to the torque resulting from the positioning of the center of gravity of the driver behind the axle. Both forces sum to produce a lifting force upon the shafts.
At the same time that this upward, lifting force is applied through the shafts to the harness of the horse, the horse is attempting to lower its body 3 to 5 inches as it reaches out to stretch its hooves farther apart. The upward lift on the shafts opposes the horse's effort to lower itself and stretch. The result is that the hooves of the horse strike the track surface in error and often result in leg injuries, such as bowed tendons.
Another difficulty with conventional equipment is that it restricts the horse's movements because of the manner in which the shafts of the conventional sulky are bound to the conventional harness. The twisting and turning of the horse's body during the race applies twisting and bending forces to the harness and through it to the sulky.
Yet another problem with a conventional sulky is that its seat is so low that the driver's vision is obstructed by the body of the horse.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to minimize the twisting and binding forces applied to the harness by the sulky by providing equipment which will allow the horse increased freedom of movement and reduced restraint.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the lifting force upon the shafts when the horse accelerates.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a sulky in which the driver sits at a higher level and therefore has improved vision of the other competing horses and the track.